Chapter 5 Moving In With Her

Kiera drove straight to the address Jasper had sent her.

The police file had already given her a glimpse of his story. Parents gone too soon. No schooling. Survival strung together with scraps of work wherever he could find it.

She expected little, yet the sight waiting for her still hit like a blow.

What she found was barely a room at all, a tight box with only a fold-out cot shoved against the wall. The paint peeled in sickly strips, mold gnawed at the corners, and the concrete floor carried dark stains that never faded. Damp air clung to her skin, while an old ceiling fan spun with a screech, as if daring gravity to pull it down.

Jasper caught the flicker of shock on her face, his jaw tightening. Walter might have set up a cover for him, but surely he could have chosen something less pitiful than this. Could someone raised with Kiera's comfort ever accept such a sight?

"I don't stay here," Jasper said flatly. "Come on. I'll take you somewhere else."

To Kiera, though, the words sounded like a man trying to salvage his pride. A pang of guilt slid through her chest. She had been too quick to react.

Her gaze softened. "Why don't you pack your things and move in with me?"

He froze. "Excuse me?"

Thinking he was too embarrassed to answer, she nudged forward with a softer tone. "Come on, we're married now, aren't we? Don't you think it makes sense that we live together? And since this marriage was my idea, I should at least make sure you have somewhere decent to sleep."

Before he had the chance to protest, she continued, "There are two bedrooms in my apartment. You can take the spare. We won't step on each other's space. It will feel no different from living alone."

Jasper searched her face, unsettled by the open trust shining in her eyes.

Why did she extend such trust so easily? Didn't it worry her, letting a man she barely knew step into her place?

The truth was, Kiera didn't trust easily at all. But something about Jasper-maybe the way he had once saved her-quietly reassured her.

"So? Will you?" she asked, her voice laced with hope.

Pressure tightened in his chest, yet against all reason he heard himself murmur, "Fine."

Her whole face lit up at once, and she urged him to get his things together.

Truth was, Jasper had stepped into this dingy room barely minutes before she walked in. He had no clue what useless junk Walter had scattered there, but he went along with the show, pulling together whatever he could find.

Out came a toothbrush so worn down it could scratch more than clean. Next, a pair of jeans ripped to threads. Finally, socks clumsily patched and barely holding together.

His jaw twitched, but he shoved them into a bag with calm precision, as though every item belonged to him.

Kiera couldn't take it anymore. "Leave those behind. I'll buy you new ones."

Jasper let it go without protest, never having planned to use them in the first place.

By nine o'clock that evening, they walked out of the mall burdened with shopping bags and set out for her home.

As soon as Kiera slid her key into the lock, Jasper stopped dead in the doorway.

The cramped apartment was bursting at the seams with furniture, leaving hardly any space to breathe.

With an awkward laugh, Kiera said, "Don't worry. I'll deal with all this tomorrow."

All of it came from the house she was meant to share with Brad, and since she had nowhere else to stash it, she had packed the apartment to the brim.

"How about we just get some sleep," she suggested in a rush.

Jasper's eyes roamed the chaos, and he asked in a low voice, "Where exactly am I meant to sleep in here?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. She was certain she had told him to take the spare room. Yet when she swung the door open, dread crawled over her-the place was stacked to the ceiling with furniture, making it impossible to step inside.

She had completely forgotten this!

Slowly, Jasper remarked, "The living room's packed too. Seems like there's only one option left."

Kiera's breath caught as her eyes flicked toward her own bedroom. Did this mean... they were expected to share the same bed?